A variety of training apparatus are available around and through which athletes may maneuver themselves and/or a puck or ball for the purpose of improving agility and/or puck control. These apparatuses usually consist in general terms of a bar or stick supported above the ground by two or more supporting structures creating an area under the bar through which the puck or ball can be moved. For ease of construction and to reduce costs, many of these devices employ identical supporting structures, which if narrow are prone to tipping over and which if wide limit access to the space under the bar, thereby limiting the effectiveness of the training tool.
Typically, coaches or instructors will purchase and bring 8-20 typical plastic cones with them to each practice to mark off drills for players to execute. Such cones are not difficult for hockey players to stickhandle around and offer little challenge to skilled players. Some coaches may bring additional training apparatuses to use as obstacles to move around and pass the puck through. These training apparatuses are often heavy or bulky to transport to the arena or require significant time to construct or break down before and after training. Often these training apparatuses are appropriate only for a very limited number of training uses.
There is a need in the art for a training apparatus that is lightweight, stackable for portability, easy to deploy, functions on a variety of surfaces, resists tipping over and sliding when bumped during use and which can be formed into a variety of configurations to challenge athletes of all levels.